Evaluation of the Biostimulant Activity of Zaxinone Mimics (MiZax) in Crop Plants

Jian You Wang; Muhammad Jamil; Md Golap Hossain; Guan-Ting Erica Chen; Lamis Berqdar; Tsuyoshi Ota; Ikram Blilou; Tadao Asami; Samir Jamil Al-Solimani; Magdi Ali Ahmed Mousa; Salim Al-Babili

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.874858

Evaluation of the Biostimulant Activity of Zaxinone Mimics (MiZax) in Crop Plants

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Jun 16:13:874858. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.874858. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jian You Wang^{1

2}, Muhammad Jamil^{1

2}, Md Golap Hossain³, Guan-Ting Erica Chen^{1

2

4}, Lamis Berqdar^{1

2}, Tsuyoshi Ota⁵, Ikram Blilou^{2

4

6}, Tadao Asami⁵, Samir Jamil Al-Solimani³, Magdi Ali Ahmed Mousa^{3

7}, Salim Al-Babili^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ The Bio Actives Lab, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
² Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Arid Land Agriculture, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Plant Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Applied Biological Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo City, Japan.
⁶ The Laboratory of Plant Cell and Developmental Biology, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Vegetables, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.

Abstract

Global food security is a critical concern that needs practical solutions to feed the expanding human population. A promising approach is the employment of biostimulants to increase crop production. Biostimulants include compounds that boost plant growth. Recently, mimics of zaxinone (MiZax) were shown to have a promising growth-promoting effect in rice (Oryza sativa). In this study, we investigated the effect of MiZax on the growth and yield of three dicot horticultural plants, namely, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), capsicum (Capsicum annuum), and squash (Cucurbita pepo) in different growth environments, as well as on the growth and development of the monocot date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), an important crop in the Middle East. The application of MiZax significantly enhanced plant height, flower, and branch numbers, fruit size, and total fruit yield in independent field trials from 2020 to 2021. Importantly, the amount of applied MiZax was far less than that used with the commercial compound humic acid, a widely used biostimulant in horticulture. Our results indicate that MiZax have significant application potential to improve the performance and productivity of horticultural crops.

Keywords: apocarotenoids; biostimulant; date palm (Phoenix dactylifera); green pepper (Capsicum annuum); squash (Cucurbita pepo); tomato (Solanum lycopersicum); zaxinone; zaxinone mimics (MiZax).